Category Archives: Google

Google Drive on its way? Dropbox Killer?

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Google Drive

There has been a lot of speculation lately of Google, launching its Google Drive. The online equivalent of storage. TNW is reporting through their sources, that the launch is imminent for next week. The question here is how much storage would be offered? Will it be a Dropbox killer? What will the pricing be like?

Dropbox is the market leader today! Almost everyone I know uses it. Is simple to use. Priced well, and works across multiple computers, keeping my files sync’d all the time. Effortless.

Barring Google (as a competitor) the technical innovations that Dropbox has managed to achieve, of which very few users actually know and care about, its the traction that is more important. There are others out there, with a mixed offering similar to Dropbox and offer higher or lower storage, at a price that maybe higher or lower than Dropbox. Can you off the top of your head (and by you I mean the ‘average’ Dropbox user) cite 4-5 competitors? For Google – see my comments below.

Couple of factors/viewpoints:

  1. Those already using Dropbox, see no reason to switch. Switching is easier said than done. The Argh! factor of having to upload all that data up again!
  2. Do you use it? When most of my friends and family opt for a solution, the first thing we do is ask amongst ourselves? Who uses it? If there are not many users chances are I won’t be bothered. Also, who is evangelizing within your group matters a lot! They carry influence.
  3. Dropbox to many has become the online equivalent word for online backup. Think tissue, think Kleenex. Think copier, think Xerox. Think online backup – think Dropbox (would be very hard, not impossible) to change this mindset.
  4. The 2GB and the “invite more of your friends and get more space” plays out perfectly in the market.
  5. If you’ve ever used other solutions, they are just not as simple enough as Dropbox. The damn thing just works – flawlessly! and the flawless multi-computer integration – different platforms is no less than a miracle!
  6. Price is an important factor, but it becomes secondary. May have tried to go the lower $ value per GB route, but have not taken off as one had assumed.
  7. For now, Dropbox = Cool = Reliable = Works!
  8. Who is the competition again? (that’s branding for you!

The Google Factor

To say, Dropbox will remain strong, is not correct either. They will definitely lose share to Google, should Google offer to roll out its much anticipated/rumored Google Drive (which offers 5GB of Free storage).

Pricing for Google Drive (for premium accounts) is rumored to be just about the same as Gmail’s Extended Capacity pricing:

20 GB ($5.00 USD per year)
80 GB ($20.00 USD per year)
200 GB ($50.00 USD per year)
400 GB ($100.00 USD per year)
1 TB ($256.00 USD per year)

Google Drive Leaked Image
If and this is a big if – Google matches the upgrade pricing of Gmail to that of their Google Drive, you will most likely see a mass exodus from Dropbox. That is to say, provided Google’s Drive Solution is rock-solid and multi-computer enabled.

In addition to this, Google will definitely offer the Google Drive to sync up with all Android phones and perhaps most likely with iPhones as well (something that Dropbox currently does not do).

All in all, Dropbox should be pretty okay. I think they will be forced to revise their pricing (which I doubt they will do, but more or less will increase your current hard disk storage space online).

Chrome Extensions to Enhance Your Google Plus Experience

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Introduction:

We are sure that you need no introduction to Google Plus; in fact, you are most probably loving it as much as anyone else on the face of this earth (If you’re thinking I’d be inviting you for the awesome conference call, think otherwise). There is no denying the fact that the Internet is a hub of innumerable distractions (no reference to any PG rated material here) so the use of an efficient web browser is key to maintain focus and save some valuable time in life. Although Firefox remains the preference of most, Google Chrome has certainly been amped up in regards to the many extensions it has put on offer that prove very handy in  improving browser productivity and help people organize their stream. Enough rambling for now, now let us present before you the best of Google Chrome Extensions for the all-lovable Google Plus that will definitely entice your user experience.

Google Chrome Extensions

1. Google+ Ultimate for Google Plus

Google+ Ultimate is a really useful extension for most. The usability and design of the application add to the functionality and thematic scheme of things. Yes, the extension contributes a great deal in customizing the look of Google Plus; in fact, that is the hallmark of this application in a nutshell. The first and foremost tweak made with the extension is the addition of a Brushed metallic look in the background, besides Grain and Solid Color. Perhaps, this sounds a no-use on paper; yet, it enhances the readability and contrast thereby proving to be a lot more compact that the other basic shades. The addition of fixed floating Google and Google+ navigation bar is also a handy one: it frees you of the duty to to scroll up and down to view the notifications and shares everytime. The size of media shares in the stream has also been decreased down to more ‘facebook-like’ embeds so as to free up a good amount of space.

Google+ Ultimate

2. Stream Filter BETA for Google Plus

This very extension for Google Plus will fulfil your need to avoid noise control on Google Plus. Yes, I shall be generous enough to explain noise control for you, only briefly though (Assuming here that the reader isn’t much of a noob). Well, with so many people swarming in on Google Plus and flooding your stream with all sorts of posts from all sorts of people. Now then, would you like to filter posts that do not suit your likes? Stream Filter does just that and allows you to control what you view in your stream. Keywords of choice can be conveniently included as well as excluded. In addition, the posts that are filtered can always be tracked following their disappearance.

Stream Filter

3. Stay Focusd

So, are you one of those many people who find it nearly impossible to cut down the time they spend on what are known as the time-wasting websites? Meaning thereby, less work and more time wastage (You bloody basket!). Now if you are of the view that you are too old to be scolded over issues like these, Stay Focusd provides an alternate solution to help your cause. Stay Focusd, as the name suggests, helps users a great deal in staying focussed on what’s more important ie. work and at the same time avoid being distracted. This, it does by allotting a fixed time for you to spend on those ‘time-wasting’ websites so that once you are over the time limit, it automatically blocks access to those websites for the remainder of the day. Sure, it works very well as long as you are fair and honest about it yourself, it’s only just computer technology afterall (Too bad it can’t BEAT you to it).

Stay Focusd

4. Minus One for Google Plus

We can’t term this as a Facebook rip-off simply because it is not even present on the Facebook social network; although, it would make for a great addition if it really did make an appearance. Anyway, Minus One comes across as a really simple; yet, a very interesting extension for Google Plus. In actuality, what this gives you is a Minus One button with which you have the freedom to ‘Minus One’ or, in other words, dislike people’s posts. Don’t like a comment and want the one posting to know its useless? Go tell him on his face; in fact, let the world know that with the Minus One. Only downside to the usabilty of the extension is that for all those who wish to view the ‘Minus Ones’ nee d to have Minus One installed to their systems as well. Nevertheless, a great extension to have.

Minus One

5. RSS Share for Google Plus and Google Reader

If you are regular about sharing posts on Google Plus, RSS Share is one peach of an extension for you to make use of. What it does really well is, it allows you a golden opportunity to stay up to date with ongoing events and web pages, plus share them all with a single click. The extension helps to read all your Google Reader materials. Plus, mark them as read or unread as you wish. In addition, Tree view of feeds adds to the neatness and tidiness of the layout. So then, use RSS Share for Google Plus and save the valuable moments in life (Excuse me for making that sound like a public service message).

RSS Share

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Open Multiple Accounts of Gtalk using Nomutex

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Most of us actually use multiple accounts on Gmail and thus this thing can be quite convenient if we are able to open multiple Gtalk Accounts. There is a way to do that by using some IM client but that can sometime get insecure and non-standard. But you can just follow these steps below to open multiple instances of Gtalk simultaneously to chat and check email updates.

- Make a shortcut of your Gtalk application on your desktop.

- Right click on that shortcut, and click ‘Properties’.

- In the target field you will see, ”C:\Program Files\Google Talk\googletalk.exe”. The link might be different in your case depending on your Gtalk version.

- Just add ‘ /nomutex‘ at the end of target field link, and it will then be like this, “C:\Program Files\Google Talk\googletalk.exe” /nomutex

- Please note that there are (spaces) between ” and / which is necessary.

- Now click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’

- Now you can open as many Gtalks you want, by just clicking on that short-cut again and again.

That’s it.

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Why Gmail is Better than Yahoo

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For someone who relies too much on sending emails for most of the professional and academic communications, finding a supreme email service is of a great concern. There are many email services available with different reliability, storage and spam control levels.

But on top of all other email clients, Yahoo and Gmail surely top the list because of constant improving and adding of new features. Why and how exactly is Gmail better than Yahoo, we shall try to argue about these two top-of-the-list email clients on the basis of different parameters.

Intrusive Ads:

Be it Yahoo Mail, Windows Live Hotmail or AOL Mail, every user who has used these email clients knows how the irritating amount of annoying ads keep slapping your face while you read your emails.

Of course, there are ads in Gmail as well but in a way that they cannot be termed intrusive in the same way as Yahoo ads. I have been using Gmail from last many years and have never found Ads disturbing my mail experience (or even noticing them), ever. Over Yahoo, loads of ads are displayed that reduce the real estate of the screen. Blinking ads while you work on a lengthy, serious email is well, too nauseating and unprofessional.

Hooray, no spam here!

After extensively using Yahoo Mail, Windows Live Hotmail and Gmail, I can undoubtedly say that Gmail keeps your inbox safe from spam the most efficiently. Yahoo and Windows Live Hotmail too have spam control techniques integrated but somehow I still end up having piled up spam mails sitting right in my inbox. It’s not all so perfect with Gmail, you can have a couple of spam mails every other day but hey, it’s easier to detect and delete them than working with hundreds of unwanted messages on yahoo everyday.

Gmail Filters:

Gmail’s filter feature is the best of all email clients out there. No question! Unlike Yahoo and other email services, that simply re-route incoming messages, Google Mail delivers the power that you want. In a matter of seconds, you can create a filter that searches through all mails matching with keywords or people in the mails, and after searching you can immediately categorizes it into some label, forward it to someone, or simply moves it to the trash or mark it spam, to name just a few features.

Filters seriously make email experience the best. No more need to spend hours finding one lost email in the piles of thousands (hint: Yahoo).

Google Apps:

Okay, apps are not the basic features of email clients but why not? When Google can integrate so many apps, labs in to the email service, what are the other giants like Yahoo Inc. and AOL doing?

With Google Docs letting you open and edit your attachments right on the web and being able to check Google Calendar and Reader, who will opt for other email clients that can’t beat the functionality and flexibly height of Gmail.

After all these major features, conversation style emails also attract me too much over the ol’ time based classic email viewing style. Many find it pesky at start but trust me, once you start using Gmail, in a week’s time Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail will stand nowhere near to your life!

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How to Gmail Chat on iPad

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Google lovers like myself can probably be the most whiny creatures on earth when it comes to sacrificing things Google has gifted us with. Many gmail chat users find it hard to move to skype or other chatting/talking/video conferencing applications other than gTalk. Here we shall try to tell you about some awesomely cool apps to gmail chat on the iPad.

Chat for Google Talk (Google Chat):

This gTalk app has been designed for all your apple devices: iPad,  iPhone, iPod-Touch, is launched by  iApp Ventures LLC. Google Talk lets you enjoy realtime chat from almost anywhere. Using the push notifications, this app gets instant messages, chats, and receives pictures. Take your instant messaging on the go with you. No need of bulky notebooks or mini laptops when you have an iPad, iPod-touch or iPhone.

Gmail chat on iPad

Are you travelling? Want to let your friends enjoy the scenery around you? Or in some super store, craving for your buddy’s suggestion about some new gift wrapping papers? Simply purchase this app for a minimal 0.99USD with free texting and real time location sharing, and take your chat buddies with you everywhere, get their suggestions, share videos, pictures, ANYTHING!

Features:

Some amazing features that come with this Google Chat app are:

  • Emoticons to let you express your souls and heart
  • Sharing pictures
  • Notifications, when you have new message
  • Works on wi-fi
  • Real time location sharing
  • Easy to use User Interface
  • Push notifications for new messages
  • Status Updates to let you update your Google Chat with one-click. App  also contains pre-loaded popular statuses.

A I Gtalk Free:

Another app to use Gmail chat on your iPad is A I Gtalk Free, free for the basic version with features of chatting using text and emoticons and pictures. Another handy feature of this Gmail Chat app is the flexibility of letting you send an email directly from A I Gtalk when someone is offline and you need to correspond.

Gmail chat on iPad

A I Gtalk gmail chat app also lets you save your chat logs and read/delete the history whenever you want to. A I Gtalk too has the features of Status Updates, Notifications for New Messages but many of its features are working only on iPhone and iTouch and not properly on iPad. They are fixing the bugs with each version update. So don’t miss out trying A I Gtalk Free as well.

Both of these apps for Gmail chat on iPad have almost all the features that you want to have on your gTalk instant messenger on the go. Try them out and do share your experience with us.

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Transfer to Google Chrome without worrying about Your Add-ons on Firefox

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I know that before Google Chrome’s entry into the market, Firefox was one of the most and reliable browser used out there. The one reason among all the reasons behind that, was the Add-on feature in firefox which let the user take out something more than just from its simple use. Add-ons makes browsing more easy and fun, and hence it put a question in minds of Firefox lovers that will Google Chrome give them such experience as Firefox does.

Well you don’t have to worry about all your Add-Ons on Firefox, because simply similer to the Firefox add-ons, we have Google Chrome Extensions, available on Google Chrome Webstore and they contain extensions from blogging to shopping. Today we bring you some of the extensions on Google Chrome, that you had as Add-ons on Firefox and you might start missing them once you are on Google Chrome.

Adblock+

It allows you to block/disable ads on a webpage.

Stumble it

Just stumble any page you are on, using this extension.

Gmail This

More intuitive, efficient and useful is what this extension is. It makes you go straight to a new email composing on G-Mail with the link of the webpage you are on, added already.

Lnkify

If you are on a webpage that has a long URL, well you can use this extension to shorten your URL and convert it into a hyperlink.

Socialize 

It lets you submite the page you are on, to any Social Bookmarking websites.

Video Downloader 

This add-on was one of the widely used on Firefox. It lets you download videos from any Video sharing website easily. This Downloader will also help you convert some video formats.

Google Pagerank

Use this extension when ever you want to check the Pagerank of any website you are viewing

Twitter Now

Twitter Now is a Google Chrome extension that provides an interface to the basic functionalities of Twitter. This extension which lets you tweet straight from your browser

Share on Tumblr

With this Add on you can directly share your posts or any content which you see on the web on your Tumblr account. Along with this, you can also use the extension Tumblr Dashboard.

Dictionary

This is a very helpful extension for the users, mainly bloggers and students. This extensions helps you easily search for a term or anything you wish to find the meaning of.

Google Translate

This one is an extension that I think overpowers all the previous ones. You can simply translate a whole webpage fromany language it is in, to English. This is quite a handy extension.

Delicious Bookmark

This extensions lets you access your bookmarks easily with just a click and also to save your bookmarks if you want to.

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How to Organize Emails in Gmail Using Labels

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Ever wondered why Gmail doesn’t allow you to move your emails into custom folders? It might look irksome to many at first but trust me, it just makes you lead a clutter-free email life. Organizing emails in Gmail using Labels, an exclusive feature from Google Mail makes organizing and categorizing emails pretty easy, fun and useful as well.

What makes Labels in Gmail attractive is that your one email can belong to ideally any number of Labels. An email sent to me for moderation of some useful suggestion comment on this space, can be labelled under Webscopia, Useful Tips and also as Have to Respond. Then I can easily find that single email under all thrice of these labels giving categorizing a whole new look and feel along with flexibility.

Organizing and Categorizing emails with Labels:

To create a label in Gmail go to Settings from the top Gmail navigation bar. Click on Labels and create new label.

Create labels in Gmail

Labels in Gmail

You can nest the new label under the other, pre-existing labels or simply leave the check box unchecked. You can open any label from the left (or right) panel on your Gmail display. Click on more to show all of them.

For applying Label to any message in Gmail, check the emails in the email list, click on label button (or press l), and click on the desired label. For faster access start typing the name of desired label’s name until it becomes highlighted. You can also create the label directly from there by typing the name and pressing enter.

Create label in Gmail

To use labels as folders, and removing messages from inbox and organize them in the labels, use the Move To button just beside the Labels and the emails will permanently moved from your Inbox to the destined Label.

Note: Moving the emails from any label to inbox doesn’t remove the current label tag, but just moves it to the inbox letting you organize the messages as you want.

You can also assign a combination of labels to one email message in Gmail. Just select or open the message and keep on clicking the desired labels. You can organize and categorize messages in hierarchical way as well.

To organize emails using labels as filters like the custom folders, go to settings on the Gmail, click on Filters, and click on the Create a new filter. Fill in all the details and click on Next Step. Make sure that Skip the Inbox is checked. Check Apply the label and select any existing label or create new label. Now, new messages will only appear in their specific labels bypassing the Inbox, leaving it clean, organized and uncluttered. You’ll see the label with new messages highlighted in the left panel.

With all these amazing and flexible features of letting you organize and categorize your emails in Gmail, Labels are a sure shot for every email user. Have your other email accounts popped in to your gmail, assign them a label and get emails of all your email IDs right on a single display of Gmail. Have fun playing with the power of Labels!

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GTalk: Chat with Your Friends Using Google Talk New App

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And its time for a new released App, here on Webscopia. App Crisp Ltd. just released a new App for users to chat with their friends on Google Talk. Who don’t want to communicate with their family and friends without giving away any money? Its pretty obvious that whoever has got their hands on any smartphone, they have subscribed to Apps like these after getting access to the internet, and enjoy talking to their friends.

Today’s App, Chat for GTalk also serves the same need. This App allows you to chat with your friends on Google Talk service from your iPhone. The first released version has built in around 3 themes to pimp the App, change the way the screen looks while chatting, contact list fonts and also the background colour.

gtalk chat with friends on google

Here are some features:

  • communicate easily with your friends GTalk / Google +;
  • The app allows you to view the “status update ”to see when your friends are online. You can also customize their own;
  • Share photos with your friends;
  • full support for push notifications;
  • opportunity to view old conversations at any time;
  • through an internal browser you can view the links without leaving the app;
  • chance to chat in landscape or portrait mode.

You can proceed to download the app here: Chat for Gtalk – Price € 0.79

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